Lister-cultivator.



PATENTED JULY 7, 1908.

E. M. swANsoN. LISTBR GULTIVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.14. 1806.

2,0 l??? fi PATENT OFFIOE'.

ELMER M. SWANSON, OF SHENANDOAI-I, IOWA.

LIs'rER-GULTIVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 7', 1908.

Application filed December 14, 1906. Serial No. 347,900.

T o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER M. SwANsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Shenandoah, in the county of Page and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Lister-Oultivators, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to disk cultivators and more especially to thattype for cultivating listed corn in which the draft shall tend to holdthe cultivating appliances in the ground as exemplified in the patentfor cultivator, 783A79, dated Feb. S, 1905, my object in this connectionAbeing to generally improve the cultivator disclosed in my aforesaidpatent and produce a machine which can be more easily handled and moreperfectly controlled.

With this general object in view and others as hereinafter appear, theinvention consists in certain novel and peculiar features ofconstruction and organization as hereinafter described and claimed; andin order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to theaccompanying drawing, in which Figure 1, represents a plan view of apart of a two-row cultivator embodying my invention, with certain partsbroken away. Fig. 2, is a side view of the same with the seat plank insection. Fig. 3, is a vertical section of the parts connecting theshovel-beam rock-shaft and the shield. Fig. L1, is a vertical section ofthe shield taken on the line IV-*IV of Fig. 1. Fig. 5, is a verticalsection taken on the dotted line V-V of Fig. 2. Fig. 6, is a verticalsection of the lower end of the lever through which Fig. 5 is taken.

In the said drawings, 1 indicates the tongue, 2 an angle plateprojecting upward from the rear end of the tongue and 3 a substantiallydiamond-shaped frame secured to plate 2 and to opposite sides of thetongue forward of said plate. 4 is a sector rigid with said frame andtongue and 5 a lever pivoted to the sector and provided with catchmechanism 6 for engagement with the sector.

7 is a crank arm projecting rearwardly from the lower end of the leverand connected pivotally by a link 8 with the draft-bar 9 underlying thetongue and equipped at its front end with a double-tree 10 and securedat its rear end to a rock shaft 11 journaled in bearing hangers 12depending from opposite sides of frame 3.

13 indicates ground wheel arms secured rigidly but adjustably in anysuitable manner, at their upper ends to rock shaft 11 and equipped withground wheels 14 at their lower ends.

15 indicates arms extending downward and rearward from rock shaft 11 andequipped with cultivating disks 16. As thus far described the parts arein principle duplicates of 'the corresponding parts of the patentedstructure.

17 indicates a pair of arms rigid with and projecting rearwardly fromrock shaft 11 and journaled in the rear ends of said arms is a shaft 18carrying rearwardly projecting beams 19 equipped with shovels 20. Shaft18 is also provided centrally with a depending arm 21 bifurcated at itslower end at 22, and pivoted in the bifurcation of said arm so as to becapable of swinging above but not below a predetermined point is a bar23 connected by cross bolts 24 to the upper ends of a pair of plates 25,of substantially obtuse angle shape in cross section. The plates aredisposed so that their upper portions shall converge toward the bar andtogether constitute a shield or fender for the plants, not shown.

The plates forming the fender are clamped in the desired position bynuts 26 engaging the threaded ends ofthe bolts and interposed betweensaid bar and said plates and mounted on said bolts are wedge-shapedwashers 27. These wedge-shaped washers may be arranged in the positionshown or in an inverted position. In the fermer case, the plates of theshield occupy the relation shown in full lines and in the latter occupythe position shown in dotted lines and thus accommodate the plateshaving a greater lateral spread.

2S indicates a hook projecting upward from the rear end of bar 23, and29 a chain extending from said hook up through the angle plate 2, towhich it may bc secured by looping the chain or in any other suitablemanner.

30 indicates a retractile spring connecting frame 8 with the shaft 1Sand under tension when the cultivating devices are depressed and adaptedto coperate in reelevating said elements.

31 indicates a lever pivoted on bolt 32 in a bracket 33 secured to frame3, and provided at its lower end with an opening 34 flared at both endsand receiving a rod 35 pivotally connected at its front end to a crankarm 36 of rock shaft 18.

37 and 38 are adjustable collars secured on said rod and 39 a springmounted on the rod and interposed between collar 38 and the lever tohold the collar 37 pressed rearwardly against said lever and adapted tolimit the depth of cut of the shovels independent of the depth of thecut of the disks, the spring 39 being adapted to yield in the event thatthe shovels strike obstructions in their path, said spring of coursereturning said shovels to their original positions as soon as theobstruction is passed.

40 is a bracket secured to lever 81 so as to form an opening 42 for saidlever and bridging said opening is a pin or bolt 43 adapted to engageone or another of a longitudinal series of notches 44 in the lower edgeof a link 45 pivotally connected at its opposite end to lever 5 and saidlink is provided with a longitudinal slot 46 slidingly engaged by aspring-depressed hook 47 carried by said lever, said hook beingconnected by a rod 48 to a pivoted grip 49 mounted at the upper end oflever 31. By grasping said lever and grip and applying vpressure thehook is caused to raise the toothed link from engagement with pin 43 andwhile in such relation lever 31 or lever 5 can be pivotally operated soas to dispose the pin opposite a dife ferent notch, the notched link inthis new relation engaging the pin as soon as the pressure is removedfrom the pivoted grip 49.

In practice the team is hitched to the double tree and as the machine isdrawn forward the driver withdraws catch 6 from engagement with sector 4and thus permits the pull of the team to force the cultivating devicesinto the ground, the distance the ground is penetrated being controlledby the driver who permits the catch to rengage the sector at the propertime and thus lock the draft bar 9 from moving further upward,said'draft bar being shown at approximately the maximum height to whichit will be moved under the pull of the team when the lever is not lockedupon the sector, it being apparent that the depression of thecultivating appliances is resisted by spring 30 and that any rockingmovement imparted to rod 35 is accommodated by the flared opening 34 inlever 31. It will also be noticed that the shovels and the shield areheld yieldingly depressed and -therefore may ride over ordinaryobstructions in their paths and that a variation in the yieldingpressure with which the shovels are held depressed may be effected byadjustment of lever 31 on the link 45 or by adjustment of collar 88. Ifit is found desirable to raise the shovels and shield materially abovethe ground without disturbing the disks, lever 31 is disengaged from thelink and swung rearwardly, this action rocking shaft 18 in the properdirection to accomplish the result desired. If it be desired to raisethe disks as wellas the shovels and shield, the lever 5 is swungrearward, this action through the link 8 forcing draft bar 9 downwardand forward so as to swing the frame further forward over the groundwheels, the latter remaining substantially immovable during thisadjustment of the frame. The saine action of course moves arms 17 andthe cultivating appliances forward and upward, the spring 30 cooperatingin this elevating action, and lever 31 eects the rotation of shaft 18 torock the same and swing the shovels and shield upward.Y

The elevation of the shield and shovels may be increased by the rearwardadjustment of lever 31 with respect to the link 45 as will be readilyunderstood. The ground wheels, disks and shovels as in practically allmachines of this type are adjustable on the rock-shafts for travel atvarying distances from the row of plants, and theseatplank is adapted toconnect duplicate gangs in the usual manner and to carrythe driversseat, it being understood that I do not desire to be restricted to theeXact details of construction shown and described as obviousmodifications will suggest themselves to one skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a cultivator, a tongue, a frame secured thereto, hangers rigidwith the frame and tongue, a rock shaft journaled in the hangers,ground-wheel-carrying arms secured tothe rock shaft, disk-carrying armsalso secured to the rock shaft, bars projecting rigidly from the rockshaft, a rock shaft journaled in said bars and equipped with shovels,means tending to raise the lastnamed rock shaft, a draft bar rigidlysecured to and projecting forward from the firstnamed rock shaft, alever having an armV Y linked to said draft bar, and means to securesaid lever at the desired point of adjustment.

2. In va cultivator, a tongue, a frame secured thereto, hangers rigidwith the frame and tongue, a rock shaft journaled in the hangers,ground-wheel-carrying arms secured to the rock shaft, disk-carrying armsalso secured to the rock shaft, bars project ing rigidly from therock-shaft, a rock-shaft journaled in said bars and equipped withshovels, a spring connected to eXert continuous upward pull on the lastnamed rockshaft, a draft bar rigidly secured to and pro- 1 jectingforward from the first-named rockshaft, a lever having an arm linked tosaid draft-bar, and means to secure said lever at the desired point ofadjustment.

3. In a cultivator, a tongue, a frame secured thereto, hangers rigidwith the frame and tongue, a rock shaft journaled in the hangers,ground-wheel-carrying arms secured to the rock shaft, disk-carrying armsalso secured to the rock shaft, bars projecting rigidly from therock-shaft, a rock-shaft journaled in said bars and equipped withshovels, means tending to raise the lastnamed rock shaft, a draft barrigidly secured to and projecting forward from the Erstnamed rock-shaft,a lever having an arm linked to said draft-bar7 means to secure saidlever at the desired point of adjustment, a lever pivoted to said frameand linked to the first-named lever, and a connection between said leverand the shovel-equipped rockshaft whereby forward movement of the lowerend of the lever shall raise said shovels or ermit the latter to risewithout affecting sai( lever.

4. In a cultivator, a tongue, a frame secured thereto, hangers rigidwith the frame and tongue, a rock shaft journaled in the hangers,ground-wheel-carrying arms secured to the rock shaft, disk-carrying armsalso secured to the rock-shaft, bars projecting rigidly from therock-shaft, a rock shaft journaled in said bars and equipped withshovels, a draft bar rigidly secured to and projecting forward from thefirst-named rock-shaft, a lever having an arm linked to said draft bar,means to secure said lever at the desired point of adjustment, a leverpivoted to said frame and adjustably linked to the first-named lever,and a connection between said lever and the shovel-equipped rock-shaftwhereby forward. movement of the lower end of the lever shall raise saidshovels or permit the latter to rise without affecting said lever.

5. In a cultivator, a tongue, a frame rigid therewith, a rock shaftequipped with ground wheels and cultivating devices, a lever for rockingsaid shaft, means to secure said lever at the desired point ofadjustment, arms rigid with and projecting rearward from saidrock-shaft, a rock shaft journaled in said arms and equipped withshovels, a lever pivoted to the frame and provided with a pin, a

spring-actuated hook carried by said lever', a link pivoted to thefirst-named lever and having a slot engaged by said hook and providedwith a longitudinal series of notches of which one is normally held bysaid hook in engagement with said pin, and a connection between saidlever and the shovel-equipped rock shaft whereby forward movement of thelower end of the lever shall raise said shovels or permit the latter torise without affecting said lever.

ln testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

ELMER M. SVANSON. Vitnesses:

ANNETTE Tnonrn, G. Y. THORPE.

